FSMQ Level 3 (pilot) Hypothesis testing scheme of work

Note: AQA have decided to discontinue this FSMQ. The last exam will be in the June 2018 series, with a final re-sit opportunity in 2019.

Before starting this Advanced (Level 3) FSMQ students should have acquired the skills and knowledge associated with the Statistics assessment objective of GCSE Mathematics or with an Intermediate (Level 2) FSMQ in Data, or equivalent.

A suggested work scheme showing topic areas and methods to be covered is given below. The order and time allocations can be varied to suit different groups of students.

Note that the Nuffield assignments below will not contribute to the AQA assessment of this FSMQ which is by examination only. Many of the resources below were written for the legacy FSMQ ‘Using and applying statistics’. The content of this AQA pilot FSMQ ‘Hypothesis testing’ is very different. Although the data included in these resources may be useful, you will need to adapt the activities to match the content of this FSMQ. You should disregard any information about portfolio work.

Topic area

Content

Nuffield resources The links below go to pages from which you can download the resources, some recently revised.

Most were originally written for earlier FSMQs and are likely to need adapting for use with this unit.

Stature
Data sheet gives the heights of samples of men and women from 8 countries. Student worksheet leads to main features of samples from normal distributions. Optional use of spreadsheet.

Pulse rates
Experiment to find the effect of exercise on pulse rates. Spreadsheet gives results from such an experiment carried out over a number of years by Dr Richard Wilson at the University of Queensland.

Casio calculators
Instructions for using a Casio fx83WA or fx85WA to find the mean and standard deviation.

Nuffield resourcesThe links below go to pages from which you can download the resources, some recently revised. Most were originally written for earlier FSMQs and likely to need adapting for use with this unit.

Sampling
(8 hours)

Sampling from a parent population

Precision and sample size. Include discussion of the cost in both time and money of improving accuracy by removing bias and increasing sample size.

Distribution of the sample mean and sample proportion from a normal population.

Rain or shine
Students use sunshine and rainfall data to carry out significance tests on the difference between sample means. As part of this activity students use either a calculator or a spreadsheet to calculate mean and standard deviation values.

Gender differences
Students carry out significance tests on means in order to test hypotheses about the body measurements of boys and girls at different ages.

Music and work
Worksheet requiring students to write an hypothesis and design an experiment to test whether listening to music has any effect on the performance of people doing work. Also includes arithmetic tests that may be used to carry out such an experiment.

Successful HE applicants
Students carry out significance tests on proportions to test hypotheses about successful applicants to higher education.

Election results – data may be useful
Spreadsheet containing the 2005 and 2010 General Election results.

Can they tell the difference? - Students use a triangle test to decide whether or not people can tell the difference between a product and a healthier alternative.